love potion.

i’m not too huge on valentine’s day, but i am a huge fan of love. spreading love. making love. being love.

have you ever met those people who exude love in absolutely everything they do? i know a few, and i want to be them. there is such a calm and beautiful energy that they give off.

i have a lot of love for a lot of people, and get it in return, too. but as a perpetually single gal, romantic love has been something missing in my life. it’s something i definitely want.

last week i got to interview a matchmaker. getting advice from as many experts as possible can only help, right? Krystal Walter has been in the matchmaking business for over five years making sure her clients are prepared, confident and ready for love. Krystal’s insights are tried, true and personalized without the use of computer algorithms. the thought of escaping from an app to get specialized approach to finding the perfect match is very appealing, but it does come with a price tag. an introductory matchmaking membership with Krystal starts at $3,000; understandable for an executive service.

while matchmaking is currently not in my budget, Krystal did give me – and you – six great tips for finding love:

do something.

you have to put yourself out there in order to meet people. tinder might have a bad rep, but it’s the easiest option. because it is free and popular, that’s where the majority of people are going to be.

be prepared.

know what it is you want and stay true to that. Krystal reminded me of the Dr. Wayne Dyer quote, “how people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours.”

keep doing it.

it’s very rare that you’ll meet the person of your dreams on your first attempt at dating. like the saying goes, you have to kiss a lot of frogs…

leave your friends out of it.

you may love getting advice from your friends, but don’t talk with them about your date. they were not there, and you’ll only be presenting them with one side of the story. instead, ask yourself “what do i know about this to be true?” and make your own judgement.

first date don’ts.

activity first dates are not a good idea. if you do choose to do an activity – skiing, hiking, etc. – you need to make sure you are both at the same activity level.

don’t go to a bar. the atmosphere isn’t the greatest, it can encourage over drinking, and it’s often so loud you can’t hear your date or have an easily flowing conversation.

the best time for a first date is 3 p.m. it can be casual and quick and allow you to see if there is chemistry before planning anything else.

dress up for a date.

make an effort and put your best foot forward. first impressions are important and shows your date that you care.

i took Krystal’s advice and re-downloaded tinder and bumble since meeting people in person was just not happening. tip 1: do something. here goes nothing!

You may also enjoy:

I met my fiance on OKCupid and our first date was horrendous.When he asked to see me again, I responded with “really?” because I couldn’t believe he’d want to torture himself with another horrible date. He thought I said “really?” because the date was so horrific that I couldn’t believe he’d even have the balls to ask for a second one.

My dating tip to everyone is to throw away any idea of there having to be a “spark” right away. I truly believed my fiance was never going to contact me again after that first date (and my response when he asked for a second) but sure enough, a few days later he asked if I wanted to meet after work. I figured at most I’d lose an hour of my time and said sure. The rest is history – we get married in September.